You are here:

Bulbs/transplant stargazer lilies mid season

Advertisement

Expert: Long Island Gardener - 6/3/2007


Question
My star gazer lilies are just nearing bloom.  they are in a place where I need to transplant them immediately due to a remodel of my house.  How can I do this without destroying the bulbs for future use

Answer
How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice practice practice.

How do you transplant blooming Oriental Lilies? Very carefully.

Make ABSOLUTELY sure you get as much of the root ball, undisturbed, as possible.  This is where all the damage is done.  Amend the new hole with Bone Meal to jack up the root activity.

A product called 'Messenger', Harpin Protein, will assist in transplant recovery.  A little hard to find but worth looking for.  Should be sprayed on leaves with a token watering in roots.  Excellent product.

Bulbs

All Answers

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Long Island Gardener

Expertise

Growing Tulips? Dahlias? Daffodils? Gladiolus? It doesn't get easier than bulbs and tubers. Once in a while, something goes wrong: The dreaded Narcissus Bulb Fly, which resembles a honeybee. Mosaic virus, which can ignite a field of tulips in a single season. Nematodes, lurking underground. Here on the North Shore of Long Island, the garden is full of surprises. If you live in the Northeast/Atlantic Coast, I can help you pick the right bulb for every season, indoors and out, and help you fertilize, bloom and harvest for home or work. How: I have degrees in related fields, but my best understanding is all learned from trial and error. For most of my 53 years I have been gardening somewhere. No matter what the problem, I've learned the best answers are always Organic -- Earth friendly, less expensive, healthier for people and pets, easier and cleaner than toxic liquids and powders that big chemical companies sell so smoothly.

Experience

Besides degrees in related fields, and a few favorite horticultural societies, I work as a docent at our local botanical gardens -- but it's the years of work in the garden that's the real test.

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.